A Match Made in the Sohma Residence
by agent-wolfwood
Summary: Spring is here, and love has blossomed in the Sohma household between Yuki and Tohru. But when Akito finds out about it...will Tohru's memories become endagered?
1. unexpected

Author's Note: This is purely a Tohru x Yuki fanfic, created out of the mind of a crazed fangirl (ala moi). Those who don't like fanmade couple pairings should stay away from this fic. You probably wouldn't like it very much.

chapter 1: unexpected

Honda Tohru blew on her tea softly to cool it down. It was early, and she was the only one awake. She had trouble sleeping the night before, so she decided to make some tea and onigiri to pass the time.

Tohru looked outside the window. The sakura blossoms were now peeking out in the trees. Spring was most definitely here. She sipped her tea.

A few minutes later, she heard someone coming into the living room. A boy stepped in, rubbing his wet grey hair with a towel. The boy, Sohma Yuki, seemed as surprised as Tohru to see that someone else was up after all. Tohru's heard suddenly skipped a beat when she saw that Yuki wasn't wearing a shirt, and blushed a little. She didn't know why she was suddenly embarrassed to be around Yuki when he was half-naked. After all, it surely wasn't the first time, as she had seen him after he transformed back from his rat form.

"Ah, uh...a-are you just getting out of the shower, Sohma-kun?" Tohru inquired. Yuki nodded. "Yeah; the stupid cat was in the bath for a long time, and I gave up on waiting for him, so I decided to just take one today." Tohru smiled. She wished that Yuki and Kyou would stop calling each other names, but it was now apparent that they weren't planning to stop.

Yuki glanced at the pot of tea and the plate that had onigiri on it. "Oh, so you made tea and onigiri this morning, Honda-san?" he asked. The brunette-headed girl nodded. "Yes, help yourself, Sohma-kun!" she replied. Yuki sat down beside her, and reached for the shirt that was draped over his shoulder. As he put it on, Tohru sucked in a breath. She suddenly thought about how jealous the Prince Yuki Fan Club would be if they had seen her with him just then. The boy was certainly good looking, and it seemed to Tohru that this was the first time she had really noticed.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Tohru finally took a bite from her onigiri, and tried to stir up a conversation with Yuki. "Sohma-kun..." she began, when Yuki brought his hand up to his face. "You, uh, have some rice one your face, Honda-san," he said. Tohru blinked. "I do?" she asked. She raised her hand to brush off the rice. "No, no—it's on this side," Yuki said. He reached over to her face the same time she did, and their hands touched. Tohru felt her face redden, and could see that Yuki was trying not to blush as well.

Yuki smiled nervously. "It's...pretty quiet," he said. "You know, without Shigure or Kyou around. Just...the two of us."

"I agree, Sohma-kun," Tohru replied. She then realized that Yuki was slowly moving towards her. He put his hand on top of hers. Tohru could feel his breath of her face. "It's just too bad..." he whispered, "that we can't get closer together." Tohru's heart thumped against her chest. "Y-yes," she found herself saying.

Just a moment later, Tohru and Yuki heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The sudden noise startled the two so much hey fell over. Tohru could feel her heart pounding. 'What, what just happened?!' she thought. 'Did Sohma-kun and I almost...' She tried to shake the thought from her head. The thing that Yuki had said just now popped into her head. "It's just too bad...that we can't get closer together." What was he talking about? Well, sure, he was referring to the fact that he'll turn into a rat if he hugged someone, but...what was really on his mind? Did he really want to get closer to Tohru like that? A hundred things rushed past her head, and she began to feel dizzy. What happened a moment later, however, captured her attention to where she almost forgot what happened between her and Yuki.

"Shigure, I'm going, and that's it!!" a voice yelled. Tohru knew immediately who it was. Orange-haired Sohma Kyou stomped into the living room, with Sohma Shigure following him, shaking his head. Kyou's glare caught Yuki's face almost instantly. "You..." he said under his breath. "Looking at you makes me sick to my stomach."

Tohru stood up. "Wh-what happened, Kyou-kun?" she asked.

Shigure chuckled. "Oh, don't mind him, Tohru-kun," he said, waving her off. "Kyou here says he wants to go back to the mountains to train."

"And don't think I won't!" Kyou said. "Once I do, I'll see to it that I'll finally defeat that damn Yuki!"

Yuki sighed. Oh, how many times before he has heard this. "Don't you ever get tired of saying that, stupid cat?" he muttered. Kyou clenched his teeth, and stepped towards Yuki.

Not wanting yet another fight to erupt, Tohru walked in front of Kyou. "You can't leave, Kyou-kun!" she exclaimed. "What about school?"

For a moment, Kyou's angered face seemed to soften, but then he became angry again. "Bah, I don't care about that!" Kyou said. "I never wanted to go to school with the damn rat in the first place!"

Shigure ran his hair through his slick black hair, as calm as always. "Ah...I told you so, Tohru-kun," he said. "I said the same thing as you, but he just won't listen."

"Shut up!" Kyou said as he rolled his hands into fists. And with that, he stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Tohru's hands hung loose on the side of her body.

Shigure sighed. "Well, I guess that's it," he said. He looked over to Tohru and saw her distraught expression. "Don't worry about Kyou, Tohru-kun. He'll come home eventually. Hey, are those onigiri...??"

"Well, that was certainly eventful," Yuki mused as he and Tohru were walking to school. "Yeah," Tohru replied. She fiddled with her hair nervously.

Yuki glanced back at her. "Oh, are you still worried about Kyou? Don't be. The guy's way over his head if he thinks he can actually beat me. He'll show up again when he feels like it."

Tohru shook her head. "No, that's not it." She paused. "Um, Sohma-kun, what...happened back there before Kyou-kun and Shigure-san came in?"

Yuki stopped, and waited a minute or two before answering. "Well," he said uncertainly, "I suppose what we thought happened...did really happen." He turned around. "Did you....not like it?"

Tohru jerked her head up. "H-huh?! It's not that, it's just...I guess I was just caught off guard. I didn't really have time to think about what happened.

Yuki nodded. "Yes, I can understand that. I'm usually not so forward like that. I'm sorry."

Tohru smiled. "Hey, don't worry about it," she said. "Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?"

Yuki smiled in return. "Okay," he said.


	2. feelings

Author's Note: Wow, it seems people really like this fic, even though this is only the second chapter! Thanks for the feedback, everybody!

chapter 2: feelings

"Now, where have you been?!" Uotani Arisa demanded as Tohru shuffled through her locker for her History book.

"What do you mean?" Tohru asked casually.

"You were late for class, that's what I mean!" her friend said. Tohru shrugged off the comment. "Only by five minutes." She shut the locker door. "It's really nothing, Uo-chan. I just got side-tracked, that's all." Well, that was one way of putting it.

Uotani frowned. "Whatever," she said, and, after glancing around, added, "Where's Orangey, anyhow? We still have a match to settle."

Tohru shook her head. "He's not here," she said, "and I don't think he will be for a while. He has some..." She paused before finishing. She didn't want to say where he actually was. She figured Kyou wouldn't want the whole school to find out. "He has other priorities he has to tend to." Okay, so it exactly wasn't a lie. Training could be viewed as a priority, after all, or at least in Kyou's mind.

"Oh, I see," Uotani replied with a nod. It was then Hanajima Saki approached her and Tohru.

"Ah, Hana-chan! Ohayou!" Tohru greeted her. In response, Hanajima asked, "Did you bring your cards, Tohru?"

Tohru snapped her fingers. "Oh, yeah! They're right here." She reached inter her locker and pulled out a deck of cards. "Kyou-kun's not here, so we're going to have to play by ourselves."

"Huh? What a sec—what about Prince Charming? Why don't you ask him if he wants to play?" Uotani asked.

Tohru's eyebrows knotted up. "Oh...Sohma-kun?" she replied. "I don't know..." Then, as if on cue, she saw Yuki coming down the hall. "Sohma-kun!" she blurted out.

Uotani turned around. "Speak of the devil!" she said. "Hey, Yuki—you wanna play Dai Hin Min with us?"

Tohru bit her lower lip, wishing she had never said anything.

Yuki thought about it for a moment, then, seeing that Tohru looked uncomfortable, declined her offer. "No thanks, I've got to meet with a teacher," he lied. He gave a quick wave to the three girls, then went on passed them. When he was by Tohru, she gave him a look that clearly said "Thank you". Yuki smiled in return.

When Yuki was out of sight, Hanajima said, "He seemed strange. He usually doesn't act like this."

"Oh, really?" Tohru babbled quickly. "I didn't notice anything unusual, Hana-chan." She turned to go to her next class, missing the look Uotani and Hanajima exchanged. Tohru wasn't the kind to lie to her best friends, but she didn't want to tell them about what happened earlier that morning.

For the rest of the day, Tohru did her best to prevent running into Yuki, even when they were in the same classroom. She felt weird for dong so, but something in her told her that it would be best to avoid him. Whenever she see him, however, he would smile at her. Tohru wouldn't try to react on the outside, but on the inside, her stomach jumped every time he did it.

When the last bell ran for the end of the school day, Tohru gathered her belongings and left the building, without waiting for Yuki as she always did.

"Honda-san, Honda-san!" she heard Yuki call out. She ignored it, and started to walk faster. She soon heard someone running up to her.

"H-hey, Honda-san, wait up!" Yuki gasped, grabbing her shoulder. Tohru stopped suddenly. "Did you...did you not hear me?" he inquired.

Tohru shook her heard. "Yes, I heard you, Sohma-kun," she said. She looked over to see Yuki's hurt expression, and felt her heart crumble. Her eyes began to blur up, so she wiped them before any tears were able to form. "I'm...sorry or ignoring you, Sohma-kun," she said. Yuki relaxed a bit, and then admitted, "Well, it's not like I didn't deserve it, I suppose." He stepped up closer to her. "It's just that..." he murmured, giving her arm a light squeeze.

Tohru pushed him back. "Please don't do this again, Sohma-kun," she begged. Yuki once again looked hurt. "Don't make me have to deny my feelings, Honda- san!" he said. "I don't want to lie to myself again."

Tohru stepped back, covering her face with her hands. "I just can't do this, Sohma-kun," she said, then turned around and ran back home.


	3. truth

Author's Note: w00t! I'm already on the third chapter! :D I'm surprised myself at how quickly the chapters are coming out. Yesh, yesh...my creative juices are really flowing!   
  
chapter 3: truth  
  
Yuki chased Tohru down the sidewalk for a couple of blocks before he finally gave up. Stupid, stupid, stupid!! Why did he try to push Tohru into something she clearly didn't want to do? Yuki was usually good at keeping his emotions in; how could this be any different? He decided to stop chasing Tohru, and walked the rest of the way home.  
  
When he arrived at the house, he saw Shigure looking at his watch. "Hmm..." he murmured, "if I'm correct, my editor should have been waiting for me outside my office for about...half an hour, so I suppose I'll be going now."  
  
Yuki shook his head. "The way you treat her, I'm surprised she hasn't quit already." Shigure shrugged. "I'm just doing my part in making her paycheck well worth it!" he said with a grin.  
  
Yuki looked around. "Where's Honda-san?" he asked. Shigure pointed upstairs. "She went to her room. Seemed kinda upset to me." He then went past Yuki and stepped out the door, and shut it. Yuki leaned up against it. Surprisingly enough, he actually wished Kyou were still around, just to help things become less difficult. He debated with himself whether he should go to Tohru's room to talk to her, but eventually decided to go ahead with it.  
  
"Honda-san?" he called out as he came up the stairs. He knocked on her door when he found it. "Honda-san?" No answer. He called her name again. "Honda- san? Can I come in?" Still nothing. Hesitantly, he opened the door, and came in. He found Tohru rolled up in her bed, clutching to her legs. He sat on her bed.  
  
"Listen, I'm sorry about before," he said. "I'm not proud of myself, Honda- san." He reached over to her, then decided against it, and pulled back.  
  
"Don't let it bother you so much, Sohma-kun," Tohru muttered finally. She looked up. Yuki could see that she had been crying, as her eyes were red. "I'm just...scared, that's all."  
  
"About what?"  
  
Tohru hesitated before answering. "About myself...about you. I'm scared that something will happen between us that I don't want to happen. But..." She released her grip on her legs, and scooted up closer to him. "I don't want to lie to myself, either."  
  
"Then don't," Yuki replied.  
  
Tohru leaned her head against his shoulder. "I have a confession to make," she said. "I've always tried to think of you as just a friend, but...I...I've recently come to find that I may think of you as something else." Tears began to form in her eyes again. "I'm ashamed of myself, Sohma-kun." She then started to cry.  
  
At first, Yuki didn't know what to say. He leaned over, kissed her forehead, and said, "I hate to see my princess cry. She should be smiling instead."  
  
Tohru jerked her head up. "Sohma...kun..." she breathed. Yuki smiled, then brought his face up to hers.  
  
At first, Tohru's nails were dug into her legs, unable to move. Whether a minute or an hour passed, Tohru couldn't remember. It was all like a dream; a fairy tale with an actual prince. Yuki's mouth moved down to her neck, and she moaned. Her whole body tingled, and she felt hot. She put her hand on his head. She wanted more than anything to be able to wrap her arms around him, but she was afraid to even touch him more, in fear that it would trigger his transformation.  
  
Yuki soon pulled away from her. "How's that?" he asked. Tohru smiled nervously. "That was...just fine!" she said. She blushed. "Oh, Sohma-kun!" she cried as she threw herself into his arms. Yuki couldn't even get out, "D-don't, Hon--!" before...  
  
POOF!  
  
Tohru lost her balance, and fell over, right on Yuki's clothes.  
  
"Uh..." she moaned. Realizing he wasn't there anymore, she jerked her head around. "Sohma-kun? Sohma-kun??" She then felt something move underneath her. "Sohma-kun!!" she cried, jumping up to her feet.  
  
"Ow..." Yuki muttered as he came out from his shirt.  
  
Tohru sighed as she picked up the little rat. "What a way to kill the moment, huh?" she said. Yuki scratched the back of his ears, and said (well—I guess it's more like he squeaked), "I guess. Just watch where you land the next time you hug me, ok? You almost squashed me." Tohru laughed in spite of herself. "Yeah, sorry about that, Sohma-kun," she said, setting him down.  
  
Yuki looked up at her. "I have to be honest with you, Honda-san," he said. "I don't regret kissing you. I really meant it."  
  
Tohru smiled. "I know. I did, too; otherwise I would have turned away."  
  
Yuki scurried up her leg. "I..." He hesitated. "I'm in love with you. I never wanted to tell you before because I never wanted to see myself as that kind of person, and I didn't know what you would say. I'd never want to make you feel obligated to do something you didn't want to. But now...it just feels right." With that, he jumped on Tohru's face, and clenched onto it.  
  
"Ow!" Tohru exclaimed. "What are you—"  
  
"I'm trying to hug you, okay?" he interrupted. "This is the best I can do." "Uh, okay," Tohru said tentatively. "I guess—"  
  
POOF!  
  
Tohru didn't even get out her whole sentence before Yuki transformed into a boy. The sudden weight gain on top of her made her fall of the bed. Yuki was now on top of her, naked.  
  
"KYAAA!! GEDDOFFA ME!!" Tohru shrieked. Yuki immediately scrambled off. "S- sorry!" he said, grabbing his pants. "I-it's ok!" Tohru said, facing the other direction and covering her eyes.  
  
When his pants were buttoned on, he said, "There." He then reached over to his shirt, but Tohru had grabbed it first. "Can I?" she asked. She brought the shirt around him and put his arms through the sleeves. She gazed at his chest, and ran her hand up it. A shiver ran down Yuki's spine. "Honda-san," he began, but Tohru kissed him before he could say anything more. "I'm in love with you, too," she said. "I'm in love with you, Sohma Yuki. Rat or boy, it's all the same to me." - - - - - Hehe...just so you guys know, this is the closest Yuki and Tohru will have to having sex with each other. I'd imagine that would be a very difficult task for the poor Sohma family, anyways...What the crap am I talking about?? Oo;; 


	4. risk

Author's note: Yay! Finally an update! No, my computer's not fixed, and yes, I'm back at my mom's office, but, as you can see, I did remember to bring the notebook that has all of my fics written down. Oh, yea—just so you guys know, I'm thinking about the ending being an alternate ending to the Furuba series. Now, granted, I haven't seen/read the Furuba anime/manga, so if something doesn't seem, well, actually possible, too bad. There's nothing I hate more when it comes to fanfics than know-it-all reviewers. Not everybody can be all-knowing about every aspect of the series, okay?? Yeesh!  
  
chapter 4: risk  
  
Two days after Yuki and Tohru's encounter in her bedroom, it was Sunday, and Yuki had an idea.  
  
"Hey, Honda-san," he said, "let's go see a movie!"  
  
Tohru almost choked on her rice. "R-really?!" she exclaimed. Yuki nodded. "Yeah, there's one I thought you'd want to see. Interested?"  
  
Tohru blushed. Was this...a date?? "W-well, yeah! Of course!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Ooh!" Shigure chimed in, half-kidding. "That sounds like fun!" Can I come, too??"  
  
Yuki pursed his lips a little. "Don't you have work to do, Shigure?" he asked curtly.  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"So, you should get on it!"  
  
Tohru could feel the tension in the room, and she wondered if she should try to stop their arguing. She didn't want it to become too obvious to Shigure that they were trying to go out on a date.  
  
To her luck, however, the phone started to ring. Sighing, Shigure stood up and picked it up.  
  
"Hello?" he asked. He listened for a couple of minutes, then answered, "Uh- huh, okay...yes...Um, I'm kinda busy right now, can I...No, no, I'm not trying to abandon you!..."  
  
"Must be his editor," Yuki muttered, and Tohru nodded in agreement.  
  
Shigure hung up the phone. "Well, that was another distress call from my editor. Says she wants fifty pages done by tomorrow. So..." He put on his glasses. "I guess I won't be joining you two. Have fun!"  
  
Tohru smiled, and breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Wow, I'm so excited!" Tohru exclaimed as she and Yuki were walking to the theater. She was hugging his arm.  
  
"Yeah, it is fun," Yuki, who wasn't being completely honest. He didn't really understand how walking could be fun. But then again, this was Tohru he was talking about. It didn't take too much to get her excited.  
  
From a distance, a lone figure was watched them. Sohma Hatori, the Sohma family doctor, was in the city when he spotted Tohru and Yuki together. He was perplexed about seeing them together in that sort of fashion, especially when he saw that they're arms were linked. He felt uneasy. Did Shigure know about this? He hoped he was wrong about Tohru and Yuki; that they weren't going out with each other or anything. Hatori straightened his tie. No, surely not. Tohru was a pretty smart girl, from what he had seen from her. She was certainly conscience of the situation she was in, and how she shouldn't try anything that would provoke Akito, the head of the Sohma family.  
  
And Yuki... Why, he was practically afraid of Akito. Hatori did note to himself that Yuki did, however, skip out of the New Years Banquet, and it was uncalled for that the Rat would intentionally miss it. He scratched his head.  
  
A sudden gust of wind blew Tohru's hair in front of her face, so she tucked it behind her ears. "It's so pretty out here, Sohma-kun!" she said.  
  
Yuki smiled. "It sure is," he replied. Both he and Tohru stopped. Tohru smiled, and reached for his hand. "I love you, Sohma-kun," she said. Yuki leaned over and kissed her. "I love you, too," he replied.  
  
Hatori's face dropped almost instantly. This could not be happening. "No..." he muttered numbly. "What do they think they're doing?! Blast it!!" He slammed his hand onto a telephone pole. He had warned Tohru before to leave the Sohma house, to not get involved anymore. He wanted to protect her, he, how that it's come to this? He suddenly thought of Kana. If Akito found out about this, would he react the same way to Tohru as he did to him when he asked him if he could marry Kana.  
  
Hatori saw three possibilities that were available. One, he could tell Akito what he had just seen, but, as he thought just a moment ago, he would most likely lash out at him, Tohru, or Yuki.  
  
Two, he could keep his mouth shut, but the longer he waited, the worse things might get.  
  
And three, he could confront Tohru himself, then erase her memories of all she knew about the Sohmas, and be done with it.  
  
He didn't like any of them, but if Tohru and Yuki had really fallen in love, then something had to be done. Now the hard part was choosing which one he wanted to go with. With that, he turned around and left.  
  
"Oh, wow—that was such a good movie, Sohma-kun!" Tohru exclaimed, and clapped her hands. "It was such a beautiful love story..." She sighed romantically.  
  
Yuki laughed. "Well, I'm glad you liked it," he said as they approached their house.  
  
He had just opened the front door when something occurred to him.  
  
"Oh, Honda-san," he said. "I just remembered that we're almost out of milk. I'm going to run up to the store to get some, ok?"  
  
Tohru nodded. "Ok, that's just fine," she said. Yuki then darted off. Tohru opened the door to the house, took off her shoes, and frowned. "I guess Shigure-san isn't home yet."  
  
I hope you're able to understand this situation, Shigure," Hatori said.  
  
Shigure nodded as he inhaled on his cigarette. "I do," he murmured. He shook his head. "I...I just can't believe it, that's all." He looked over to his computer screen and watched the cursor as it blinked. He was in the middle of writing when Hatori came into his office. Shigure didn't say anything else.  
  
"Well?" Hatori said demandingly. "What do you plan to do?"  
  
Shigure tapped his cigarette on the ashtray. "Nothing," he answered casually. "I don't want to have to do anything."  
  
"What are you saying?!" Hatori exclaimed. He shot up from his chair. "Don't you see what can happen? If Akito finds out that Yuki and Tohru have fallen for each other, who knows what he will do!"  
  
Shigure sighed. "Yeah, I know that," he said defensively. "But...I've known Tohru-kun a lot longer than you, and I know she's a good kid, so I trust she knows what she's doing."  
  
"But, you didn't see what I saw, Shigure!!" Hatori said. He gave up talking with Shigure when he saw that he was merely looking at him, and was clearly not changing his mind.  
  
Hatori's head slumped. "Are you sure?"  
  
Shigure frowned. "No," he admitted. He glanced over at Hatori, and said, "Fine, do whatever you feel is right." He put his cigarette in his mouth. "Akito's going to find out soon enough anyway, I suppose."  
  
With a nod, Hatori said, "Ok." 


	5. decision

chapter 5: decision  
  
As Tohru was flipping through the t.v. channels, the phone rang, startling her. She went over and picked it up.  
  
"Hello?" she said.  
  
The caller remained quiet before finally answering. "Honda...Tohru?"  
  
Tohru was a bit surprised that the call was for her. "Um...yes, this is she," she answered tentatively.  
  
"Are you alone?"  
  
Tohru felt uneasy about this conversation. "Who...who is this, first?" she demanded.  
  
"It's Hatori," the caller answered, relieving Tohru. "Oh, Hatori-san!" she said. "What are you—"  
  
"You must come to the Main House," Hatori interrupted, "tomorrow after school. Don't tell Yuki about this."  
  
"B-but, Hatori-san..." Tohru tried to object, but Hatori had hung up already. She didn't put down the phone immediately. "Hatori-san...?" Her hand felt numb. Something was definitely wrong here.  
  
She had put down the telephone down just as she heard someone coming in the door. Tohru jerked her head up. "Oh, it's only you, Sohma-kun," she said.  
  
Yuki could sense that she was upset for some reason. "What's wrong, Honda- san?" he inquired.  
  
Tohru laughed nervously. "Oh, it's nothing," she lied, and turned to head over to her room. She paused, and added over her shoulder, "Sohma-kun, Uo- chan called when you were gone. She was wondering if I could go home with her and study for a test, so I'm not going home after school, ok?"  
  
Yuki nodded, but was still unsure about Tohru. Nonetheless, he answered, "Ok."  
  
Tohru smiled, then went to her room. She knew she needed some sort of excuse as to why she wasn't going to be walking home with Yuki."  
  
Later on that evening, Shigure came home. Tohru noted that he didn't stay at the office that long.  
  
"Why did you have to stay at the office longer than usual, Shigure-san?" she asked him when he came into the house. "Did something come up?"  
  
Shigure shook his head, not looking down at her. "No," he said. "I just wanted to get more work done, Tohru-kun."  
  
"Oh, ok," Tohru said. "Well, dinner's just about ready!" Shigure didn't answer; he just looked at her with an expression that Tohru couldn't quite understand. It seemed to be a combination of sadness and anger. Maybe he knows why Hatori-san wanted me to go to the Main House so urgently, she thought to herself.  
  
Tohru, Shigure, and Yuki ate their dinner in an awkward silence. Yuki, who knew the least about what was going on, was the one who could notice the lack of conversation the most. Half of him wanted to get the other two to start talking, but he decided against it.  
  
Tohru, meanwhile, didn't have a big appetite. Her mind felt scrambled. She looked over to Shigure, who was eating his food like nothing was wrong. He noticed that she was looking at him, so he said, almost to no one in particular, "You better eat up, Tohru-kun. Don't want this food to go to waste." Tohru nodded slowly in reply, and started eating.  
  
That night, Shigure went upstairs, checked to make sure Tohru and Yuki were in bed, went into his room, and picked up the phone. He dialed Hatori's number.  
  
After the phone rang for a few seconds, somebody picked up. "Hello, Shigure," Hatori answered.  
  
Shigure was surprised, but he chuckled. "Well, well," he said, "now, just how did you know it was me?"  
  
"You're the only who would be calling me at this time of night," Hatori answered sharply. "And I think I know why you called."  
  
Shigure shook his head, remembering why he did call him in the first place. "Erm, right," he said. He regained his serious mood. "Listen, Hatori, I've been thinking about what you're planning to do, and I just think—"  
  
"You are no longer the caretaker of Honda Tohru," Hatori said simply. "She's no longer your concern. You know that, Shigure."  
  
"Y-yeah, but I think she's suspecting what's going on," Shigure said.  
  
"Well, sure," Hatori replied. "She is, after all, a smart girl. Didn't you say so yourself? Anyways, that doesn't matter now. Has Yuki caught on?"  
  
Shigure rubbed his forehead, and sighed. "No," he said. "He doesn't know a thing."  
  
"Good," Hatori said. "The last thing we need is for him to get involved more than he already is." He then hung up the phone.  
  
Shigure's head dropped in defeat. He turned off the phone, and dropped it on the bed. Walking to the door, he muttered to himself, "How did all of this happen so fast? I don't know how I can protect her anymore."  
  
He put his hand on the doorknob, opened it, and found Tohru standing right outside the doorway, her eyes brimming with tears.  
  
"Shigure-san," she sobbed, "What is going to happen to me?..." She reached her hand out to him, but he backed away from it.  
  
"Go back to bed," he said. "There's nothing more I can do now. I'm sorry." He then shut the door.  
  
Tohru slumped back to her room and laid in bed. She, however, wasn't able to fall asleep, so she stared out of the window until morning came around. 


	6. fate

Author's note: Holy crap—I'm practically done with this fic, and yet, it's only been six chapters so far! I didn't intend for it to be this short, but that's just how it turned out. And this chapter's pretty short, itself sigh. Man, I hate it when this happens...

chapter 6: fate

The next day after school was over, Tohru came out of the building and started to head toward the Main House. She had been dreading this moment all day. She didn't know what was to happen to her, nor was she even sure of why she was called there in the first place.

_Maybe someone saw me and Sohma-kun together,_ Tohru suggested to herself. It was very well possible. Well, actually, it was really the only explanation that seemed reasonable. She didn't want to have the same fate as Kana, who had to have her memories erased after Akito attacked Hatori. Is Akito that head-bent on keeping the Sohma family secret from being found out by someone? Did he really see Tohru that much as a threat?

Tohru sucked in a breath. She found it to be useless to be worrying about it this late in the game. Everything she was asking herself would be answered soon enough.

When she reached the Main House, Tohru hesitated about opening the front gate. Her heart pounded, and slowly reached over to the door, but as she touched the handle, the gate creaked open, startling her.

Tohru looked up, and saw Hatori standing there. He looked down at her.

"H-Hatori-san..." she gasped.

"Tohru-kun," he responded. His eyes looked cold, but Tohru could see a twinge of hurt in them.

Hatori turned and began to walk to the house, and Tohru followed. They were in the hallway when Hatori stopped in front of a bedroom door. "I'm very sorry you had to come here," he said. Tohru nodded understandingly. She didn't blame neither Shigure nor Hatori for this.

Hatori then opened the door. She looked up at him, unsure of whether she was supposed to go in, and he nodded.

Tohru stepped into the dark room. The only light she saw was from a window. The sunlight was peeking in from the curtains, and she could see someone sitting in front of it.

Without turning around to face her, the figure, said, "So, we meet at last, Honda Tohru."

Tohru's heart leapt in her chest, and her eyes widened. _It's...it's him!_ her voice screamed in her head. _It's Akito!!_

She then found herself sitting on the floor. "A...kito..." she whispered. She then became scared. This was it.

Akito stood up, and came towards her. She saw that he was surprisingly young; not even older than Shigure. But his eyes were cold; so much so that Tohru was afraid to look into them. She jerked her head down. Sweat began to form on her brow.

Akito knelt down in front of her, and said, "I thought I trusted you, Honda Tohru. The one thing I thought I would allow myself to accept..." He then saw that she was tremblilng. Akito tilted his head to one side, and leaned his head toward her ear.

"And now look what you've done," he said, his breath blowing into her ear. "You've gone off and fell in love with Yuki. Now, how can I trust you when you've betrayed my trust."

Tohru clenched onto her uniform skirt so that her hands would stop shaking. "I'm...sorry..." she whispered in between sobs. Akito leaned back. "Yes, well, it's too late for apologies. You are too much of a threat to our family secret, Tohru. And, as the head of the family, it's my duty to take action." He looked up to Hatori, who had been standing by the door the whole time. He nodded slowly, and approached Tohru. Akito stood up and stepped back, and Hatori knelt down in front of Tohru. He brought his hand to her. When his hand was on her face, he said to her, "I'm sorry, Tohru-kun." Tohru began to cry. She put her hands on his arms, and said, "I...don't regret ever knowing you, or the others. Just...please...don't punish Sohma-kun, I'm begging you. He doesn't deserve it. And tell him..." Tohru's voice dropped. "Tell him...that I'm sorry..."

Hatori nodded, and closed his eyes.

"STOP IT!!" A voice yelled out from behind Akito. "Don't do this, Hatori!!" Startled, Hatori's hand went down. Tohru blinked. Her...her memories weren't gone! She looked up to see who had said that, and gasped.

Akito didn't say anything at first. He finally just smirked. "Well," he said. "Looks like the Cat has finally returned."


End file.
